East Hampton Star Article
October 14, 2009
Here’s the article they wrote about me in The East Hampton Star about my trip home for the Hamptons Film Fest.
My Sept 30, 2009 – E-Blast
September 30, 2009
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Andrew Hollander: Ready for A-List
August 24, 2009
Big hearty congrats to the awesome Andy Hollander, my composer and good friend. He got selected as one of the top rising music composer talents by The Hollywood Reporter. (5th from the top!) And thanks to Andy for giving me the shout out in the article!
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ife0fdee78e1e858d74d4eec5519c2492
aBetterFilm.com goes LIVE!
April 17, 2009
aBetterFilm.com fist logo
Clicking on that logo takes you to the one-page site where we send most of the traffic from our marketing campaign, and clicking HERE takes you to the main multipage site.
I’m very proud of it. And I want to give a big shout out to my buddies Brad Helmink and John Rauschelbach who I worked with to create logo and websites. They’re the creative force behind “The Lodge.” Really fun horror film if you happen to be into that sort of thing.
And the other main thing I want to say is please spread the word to anybody you know, and/or any communities you’re involved with. Because it really is a great program for everybody involved and word-of-mouth will make the program fly.
–B
“Serious Moonlight” at TriBeCa FF
March 18, 2009
One of my favorite friends and collaborators, composer Andy Hollander, has a film that’s premiering at the ‘09 TriBeCa Film Fest, “Serious Moonlight.” It’s starring Meg Ryan as a bigshot lawyer who stumbles upon her husband (Timothy Hutton) cheating on her with a younger woman.
It’s directed by Cheryl Hines from a script by the late Adrienne Shelly, who was a close friend of Andy’s. He also scored Adrienne’s films, the last one being “Waitress.”
The first feature Andy scored was my first feature “Snapshots from a .500 Season” and we’ve been great friends ever since.
Andy is pumped up about “Serious Moonlight,” so check it out if you happen to be in Bigtown during the end of April.
HERE is the link to the NY Times article about the announcement…
Negotiation Hardball
March 5, 2009
Here’s a link to a post from efficiency guru Tim Ferriss, the best-selling author of “The 4-Hour Work Week.” I’m a fan of his fierce day-to-day innovation tactics. I share a lot of his values, admire his guts, and by coincidence, through a recent e-mail exchange, we discovered we both grew up in the same tiny town, a few years apart.
Anyway, here’s his take on playing the negotiation game at the big boy’s table. It strikes me to be as funny as it is informative, and a delight to read for anybody who loves the nuances of negotiation strategy.
My favorite part is Principle 3: “The Flinch,” and how he checks his e-mail during the gaping holes of pregnant pauses. LOL
Go Tim!
What’s Next?
March 4, 2009
My friend and colleague David Brownstein of Hollywood Coaching
just sent out his newsletter and it’s got an insightful article about
the on-going process of being in the business, and how there
is ALWAYS a next level, no matter how high or low we are
on the “ladder.”
Another point he makes is how that ladder is quite different
to people inside and outside the business. It’s even different
within the business, depending on a person’s ambitions.
For example, many value the money-makers,
while others value the critics’ darlings and cult favorites.
The article comes at a good time for me as I’m beginning
my On-line Mentorship Program for Maverick Filmmakers
and realizing that the mentees are at a different place
on the ladder than I am, but our process of getting to
our own next step is exactly the same. And that’s going
to make this program even more fun and satisfying for me
than I originally realized!
Anyway, here’s a series of questions in the middle of
Brownstein’s article and a link to the rest of
it on his excellent site:
———————–
“We in the entertainment industry are always wondering “What’s next?”
What’s around the corner?
What’s going to sell in the current market?
Have I made enough money to get out of the business?
Have I made enough money to get INTO the business?
Have I written a good enough project to sell?
Have I written a good enough project to direct it?
Have I made amassed enough power to make a project I really truly love? “
Read the rest of the article HERE.
Ashley Sings at the Lakers’ Game!
February 27, 2009
Ashley Argota plays Soomi, in “Schooled.”
Here she is belting out the national anthem for The Lakers.
Go, Ashley!!
“Slipping Behind” short doc on education
February 25, 2009
I haven’t seen this film yet although a colleague of mine who gave us
a great quote for “Schooled” is involved with it, Sara Bennett.
There are screenings in NYC on March 5th & 6th if you’re around…
Here’s the note she sent:
==========================================
I am really excited to tell you about a new short documentary film, “Slipping Behind,” which looks at the fast-paced, high-stress lives, of many of today’s students.
There will be two free screenings of the film, on March 5 and March 6. I hope you can attend and please tell your friends, your teachers, your principals, and anyone else you think might be interested. (How about posting a copy of the flyer at your school, on your facebook….) There will be a lively discussion following the film and you will be able to give feedback to the filmmaker, Vicki Abeles. I will be helping to facilitate the discussion….
=========================================
Details:
7PM
Thursday, March 5 & Friday, March 6, 2009
Dolby Laboratories, Lobby level
1350 Avenue of the Americas
between 54th & 55th Streets
New York City
Screenings followed by facilitated conversation with
Director, Vicki Abeles
& Sara Bennett, Co-Author of The Case Against Homework
RSVP to julie@reellinkfilms.com – Space is limited!
SLIPPING BEHIND is a close-up look at the pressures on today’s students, offering an intimate view of lives packed with activities, leaving little room for down-time or family time. Parents today are expected to raise high-achieving children, who are good at everything: academics, sports, the arts, community-service. The film tackles the tragic side of our often achievement-obsessed culture, with interviews that explore the hidden world of over-burdened schedules, student suicide, academic cheating, young people who have checked out.
SLIPPING BEHIND asks the question: Are the young people of today prepared to step fully and productively into their future?
We hear from students who feel they are being pushed to the brink, educators who worry students aren’t learning anything substantive, and college professors and business leaders, concerned their incoming employees lack the skills needed to succeed in the business world: passion, creativity, and internal motivation. The filmmakers take viewers to schools across the country to talk to teachers, parents, students, and experts including:
Denise Clark Pope, author of Doing School: How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed Out, Materialistic, and Mis-educated Students
Madeline Levine, author of the best-seller, The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage are Creating a Generation of Materialistic and Unhappy Kids
Deborah Stipek, Dean and Professor of Education at Stanford
Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg, an adolescent medicine specialist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and author of an American Academy of Pediatrics report on the importance of play; and
Sara Bennett, founder of Stop Homework and co-author of The Case Against Homework: How Homework Is Hurting Our Children and What We Can Do About It.
Wendy Mogel, author of the best-seller, The Blessing Of A Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children
Please visit our website to pre-order the film and to join the conversation on our bulletin board. www.reellinkfilms.com
3527 Mt. Diablo Blvd. Lafayette, Caifornia 94549
Tel (925) 962-0330
“Eleven Minutes”
February 24, 2009
This awesome doc was co-directed by my good friend
Rob Tate, who edited my first feature, “Snapshots.”
The other co-director, Michael Silditch,
is working with Rob and I to get our new doc TV series off the ground.
It’s about a wildly charismatic criminal defense lawyer from St. Louis.
Anyway, if you have any gay friends and/or big fans of “Project Runway,” make sure they know about “Eleven Minutes.” They’ll love it!
By the way, I’m straight and only mildly interested in “PR,”
but found the film to be a fascinating look beneath the surface
of reality TV buzz… Haunting and fun.
Here’s the letter Rob sent out about it….
====================
“Skillfully crafted, beautifully edited, a working man’s ‘Unzipped.’”
-Ronnie Scheib, VARIETY
“Charming and unexpectedly perceptive. Subtly address[es] our
perceptions of filmed ‘reality.’”
-Aaron Hillis, VILLAGE VOICE
“Lively and suspenseful. ‘Eleven Minutes’ captures that brisk,
intoxicating New York atmosphere of smart, no-nonsense
professionalism.”
-Kevin Thomas, LA TIMES
“Superbly crafted. Our grade: A-”
-E! Online
“Insufferable, 1.5 apples”
-Neil Rosen, NY1
Please friends, show your love and see my feature doc now out in
theatres and on HERE TV
If you live in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, or Phoenix, see
it in your local theatre (it’s at the QUAD on 13th Street here in
NYC). If you’re anywhere else, check your cable listings for HERE TV.
It’s a little film in a big big world, and I can’t guarantee it’ll
still be around in a week, so… just go and tell me what you think.
More info at
www.jaymccarrolldocumentary.com
and http://www.heretv.com/
Lots of love,
Rob
